


Summer Skin

by Night_Hawk94 (orphan_account)



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), bughead - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Betty and Jughead share a summer job, Don’t let the prologue fool you, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Kind of a slow burn, Minor Angst, Smut, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Summer Romance, basically Bughead being adorable, but not really, might add some more tags as I go, things will get pretty smutty pretty fast
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:54:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26391505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Night_Hawk94
Summary: Betty and Jughead spend their last summer together and get a lot more than they bargained for.
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 27
Kudos: 98





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo this is a little something I’ve been thinking about writing for a while, the prologue really just sets the scene and introduces the characters, but I hope you’ll stick with me through this story and see how it goes. 
> 
> Enjoy!! :)

The start of Summer was always the same. 

As a writer, Jughead would’ve described it as nothing short of _clichéd_. 

He had no idea why he was even at Sweetwater River. Parties weren’t his thing, which is probably why he was sitting on a log watching the festivities from afar instead of joining them. Perhaps it was because he had just graduated from high school less than five hours ago and felt some kind of obligation to try and participate for once.

As he witnessed the scene before him unfold though, that out-of-character urge he’d had slowly began to shrink. 

Students were scattered along the grassy bank of the river, their blood already soaked with alcohol as they did what he assumed people mostly did at parties; sit or stand around and drink. A bonfire burned brightly in the middle of the crowd and music from a car that was parked nearby mixed with the sounds of laughter and the hum of multiple conversations. 

It was getting dark, but the air was still warm. A sure sign of the change in seasons.

Throughout his years in high school, he’d never had the so-called “Summer Experience” and for the most part he was perfectly fine with that. 

But now, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was what it really looked like. 

Was this really what he believed he’d been missing out on all this time? 

To him summer meant no school. It meant sleeping in and long, lazy days where he could read in solitude or hunker down at Pops and write or catch a double feature at the Bijou. 

It was three months of freedom. A much needed respite from the trails and tribulations of life. 

Not an excuse to hang around the same people he had seen practically every day at school for the last nine months. 

Taking a sip of his beer, he watched his former classmates the way he’d been watching them since his first day at Riverdale High; with incomprehension. 

He was a loner. An outsider, but he’d never felt more out of touch with them than he did now. 

Being from the Southside of Riverdale. He was used to it. No matter how hard he had tried to fit in, in their judgemental eyes, he would always be on the outside looking in. 

So he had stopped trying. 

In moments like these, he was kind of glad he had. 

His eyes drifted over to where Archie Andrews, Reggie Mantle and Moose Mason were tossing a football back and forth between each other while a small group of love-struck girls looked on. 

They were all shirtless and barefoot. Dressed in cargo shorts to accommodate for the humidity. 

Resting his beer on his denim clad knee with one hand, Jughead rolled the sleeves of his flannel up with the other and pulled off his combat boots one by one, followed by his socks.

He smirked. 

Even his wardrobe didn’t fit in. 

He straightened up slightly, debating whether he should take his grey, crown shaped beanie off or not when he heard footsteps heading towards him. 

“Not exactly what you imagined a party would look like, is it?” 

He lifted his head immediately, a look of momentary surprise covering his features when he saw Betty Cooper standing in front of him. 

He froze, his heart beating just a little bit faster. A common reaction that seemed to occur whenever they spoke. 

Including now, he could count on both hands how many times he had interacted with her since they’d done a group project together back in their sophomore year. 

Every time had been different, but just as memorable as the last. 

To him anyway. 

“Actually,” He murmured, “It is.” 

“Really?” She cast her gaze towards the football players and their overly-enthusiastic cheerleaders again, raising her eyebrows doubtfully, “You really imagined that?” 

He let out a small chuckle, feeling the skin on the back of his neck warm. 

“Well, maybe not that specifically, but pretty much everything else.”

She laughed quietly and sat down beside him, close enough so that her shoulder was touching his. 

“Fair enough. I guess the inner-workings of parties are pretty simple to figure out. A bit predictable.” 

A small smile appeared on his lips. 

Yeah, _predictable_ was a good word to use. 

A patch of silence washed over them and he used it as an opportunity to scan over her properly. 

She looked ... _different_. 

Different, but in a good way. 

Her hair was down for a start, the blonde strands falling around her face in a soft, yet natural way. Gone were the jeans and sensible sweaters he was used to seeing her wear as well. Replaced with a simple light pink vest and a pair of faded denim shorts. 

Jughead let his eyes roam, tracing over the lines and curves of her body, noticing how incredible her legs looked. The skin smooth and begging to be touched. 

He swallowed and shifted beside her as discreetly as possible, trying not to imagine what it would be like to have them wrapped around his waist or straddling his lap. 

She was beautiful. 

She always had been. 

Like this though, she was fucking stunning. 

“Do you think they know?” Betty asked suddenly, the sound of her voice pulling him from his thoughts. 

Turning his head, Jughead followed her gaze which was fixed on their former classmates, not quite understanding the question. 

“Know what?” He asked. 

“That this is our last summer before everything changes?“

He frowned slightly, watching the people in front of him as they laughed and smiled amongst themselves. Carefree and oblivious. 

They either didn’t care or had no clue. 

“Does it matter if they do?” 

Betty grinned, giving him a sideways glance. “No, I suppose it doesn’t. I was just wondering if they would choose to spend this time differently if it did.” 

“Probably not,” He replied honestly, “In fact, they’d most likely go all out. More so than usual,” He looked at her curiously, “What makes you think they would even consider doing something else?” 

“I don’t know,” She shrugged a shoulder, “Change can do that to a person sometimes,” She paused briefly, hesitating before she opened her mouth again, “Maybe they could finally get around to doing some of the things they’ve been meaning to do for a long time.” 

Her eyes lifted, meeting his and he only realised then that she wasn’t talking about her friends like Veronica Lodge or Ethel Muggs or Valerie Brown or even Cheryl Blossom. 

She wasn’t talking about everyone else either. 

She was talking about herself. 

He suddenly had a mad, inescapable urge to find out what she meant by - things - and why the hell she was staring at him so intently. 

Before he could though, a clearly inebriated Veronica suddenly appeared out of nowhere, ambled over to them and whisked Betty away - asking, in a very loud, clear voice why on earth she was talking to “Southside Jones” when Reggie was looking for her. 

Betty glanced back at him apologetically. He could see the regret swimming in her sea green eyes, but that didn’t stop the one corner of his mouth from drooping into a grimace. 

He shouldn’t be disappointed. 

Jughead knew that. 

Who was he to Betty Cooper anyway? 

Someone she had done a group project with and had spoken to a grand total of twelve times over the last three years. 

They were barely friends. If he was her, he would probably choose to spend the rest of evening with Reggie over him as well. 

Flexing his jaw tightly, he finished off the last of his beer, cringing at the bitter taste it left in his mouth, trying to suppress his stupid self-loathing attitude before it could settle. 

He was probably reading too much into it. 

He stayed for another hour, sipping on a new beer that tasted like shit because it was lukewarm. 

At one point Kevin Keller came over and sat down on the log, telling him all about the road trip he and Moose had planned for the summer, going on about how excited he was for it. 

Jughead tried to pay attention. He really did. 

He liked Kevin. Of all the people he had gone to high school with, he was one of the few who had treated him like a normal person and not some weirdo from the other side of town. 

But all he could do though was focus on Betty, watching as Reggie boldly smoothed a hand over her hip and leaned in, shamelessly flirting with her when he whispered something against her ear. 

Bile crept up his throat and his stomach twisted with what he told himself was disgust rather than jealousy. 

He turned his entire body away from the scene, giving Kevin his full and undivided attention after that. 

When the music grew unnecessarily loud and the party inevitably became more intense, Jughead decided it was time to leave. 

With the bass of whatever song was playing pounding like a hammer in his ears, he shoved his hands deep in his pockets and strolled up the hill towards the clearing where everyone had parked their cars. 

At this point he normally would’ve asked himself what had possessed him to do this in the first place or how he could’ve thought this would be a good idea, but he was too tired to care. Too annoyed to think about the time he’d just wasted and would never get back. 

He found his bike and immediately climbed onto it, ready to forget his momentary lapse of good decision-making until he heard what sounded like someone running. 

“Jug!” 

He looked up, once again startled to see Betty Cooper appear in front of him, a little out of breath this time. 

“Could - would you mind giving me a lift home?” 

She must’ve noticed the way his brow pulled together with confusion, because she quickly added. 

“I just ... I really want to get away from here.”

Jughead looked past her towards the party, trying to find one of her friends or maybe Reggie, but it was almost impossible to distinguish anyone amongst the chaos now. 

_Was that why she was here?_

Not even half an hour ago, Mantle had practically been all over her and he hadn’t seen any signs of distress then. Maybe some obvious reluctance on her part, but not enough for him to worry or consider getting involved. 

Had Reggie touched her inappropriately or tried to force himself on her or something? 

Jughead felt his blood boil at the thought. 

His eyes moved back to her, searching her face carefully. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, “Did something happen with Reggie?” 

Betty raised her eyebrows at the question, realizing what he must be thinking. 

“Oh no, we’re not ... nothing happened between us it’s just, everyone’s drunk back there and I don’t want to be around that and I saw you leaving so I thought maybe ...” 

“ ... I could help you escape?” He finished for her. 

She nodded, her nose crinkling bashfully when the tiniest smile he had ever seen curled on her lips. “If it’s not too much trouble.” 

He didn’t have to think about his answer really. 

Not only was her distaste for being around a bunch of overly-excited, intoxicated people a little unexpected, it also made her ten times more attractive to him than she already was. 

Besides, Betty Cooper was asking him for help. He would have to be an idiot to say no. 

He held out his helmet, his mouth pulling into a smile. “Never too much trouble for you.” He said, handing it to her. 

  
  


~ 

  
  


As he turned the last corner onto Elm Street, Jughead felt Betty’s arms tighten around his torso ever so slightly, her body molding into his as she leaned with him. 

His stomach flipped for the billionth time and as pathetic as it might sound, he suddenly wished the drive from Sweetwater River to her home was a lot longer. 

He slowed his bike, coming to a stop outside a house with white walls and bright red door. 

He killed the engine and kicked out the stand, letting Betty climb off first before he joined her on the sidewalk. 

“Thanks a lot for doing this, Jug.” She said, taking his helmet off and giving it back to him. 

He tucked it under his arm and shrugged a shoulder like it was nothing, “No worries, I just hope that party wasn’t supposed to be the highlight of your summer.” He joked. 

“Well,” She giggled softly, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, “I don’t have any plans so it might turn out to be.” 

His eyebrows shot up. 

That was the other thing about summer; 

_It would only be as good as the plans you made._

Or at least that’s what some people liked to believe. 

He didn’t. 

After spending months at school following a planned out day, he preferred to go with the flow. 

Still, he found it hard to wrap his head around the idea of her not having anything to do for the next three months. 

“Besides,” Betty continued when he didn’t say anything, “I have a part time job at the library so it’s not like I won’t have something to keep me occupied. Even if it’s only over the weekends.” 

_Holy shit!_

He’d never been the type of person who believed in fate or any kind of nonsense like that, but … _fuck_ … this was the closest he’d ever gotten to swallowing the idea hook, line, sinker and the a bit of the rod as well. 

Without warning the side of his mouth tugged into a crooked smile and he somehow found the will to suppress the chuckle building in his chest. 

“What?” Betty asked. 

“Nothing,” He shook his head disbelievingly, still smirking, “It’s just ... I have a part time job at the library as well.” 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah.” 

She shifted on the balls of her feet a little awkwardly, peeking at him with shy eyes. “So I guess that means we’ll be seeing each other?” 

“I guess it does.” He murmured quietly, noticing how her cheeks had turned a light shade of pink now. 

_Was that because of him?_

He reached behind him, his fingers toying with the rough fabric of his grey beanie which he had tucked into his back pocket for the ride over to her house. 

_No. Definitely not._

“Well maybe this summer won’t be too bad then.” She mumbled, her voice just as quiet as his now. 

Surrounded by silence, he held her eyes with his, finding it immensely hard, almost unthinkable to try and look away. 

He couldn’t help but agree. 

Summer had suddenly become a lot more interesting.


	2. Swings

Getting a summer job had been an essential task. 

When Jughead saw that Riverdale’s Public Library had one available, part time and only on the weekends, he didn’t give it a second thought. 

Quiet and surrounded by books, it seemed like the ideal place to hide from all the things in his life he would rather keep to himself. 

There was only one small, unforeseen detail. 

Betty Cooper. 

For the next twelve weekends he would be working alongside Betty Cooper. 

It really wasn’t that big of a deal. 

At least that’s what he tried to tell himself. 

Since the graduation party at Sweetwater River a week ago he hadn’t seen her, but then again he hadn’t really been looking. 

Instead he had spent most of his time at Pops Diner, reading a book or writing on his laptop. At times he had glanced up whenever the bell above the door had chimed, a part of him hoping to see her only to be disappointed when he hadn’t. 

It didn’t matter, he would eventually see her again and while he wasn’t sure what to expect when he did, he was fairly confident he would be able to handle the new situation between them. 

That is, until Friday morning finally rolled around and he arrived at the library for his first day on the job. 

How could he have known that the sight of her holding two cups of coffee and a brown paper bag would completely blindside him? 

He approached her with a questioning look, one which she immediately noticed. 

“I got myself a coffee and a bear claw this morning and I figured I should probably bring you some as well,” She explained, the tone of her voice matching how timid she clearly felt, “Seeing as we’re, you know ... working together now.” 

She smiled then, warm and friendly, yet still shy, and he just about collapsed on the spot. 

_Yup, he was completely and utterly fucked._

There was no denying it. 

Taking the coffee and bag of pastries from her, he thanked her, his thoughts scrambling over what it was going to be like to work beside her all day, but Mrs Johnson, the librarian and his new boss, had other ideas. 

“Miss Cooper you’ll be behind the main desk, checking books in and out and Mr Jones,” She moved her cold, grey eyes onto him, “I want you to re-shelve books. Clear?” 

Both of them nodded silently and with one more stern look, Mrs Johnson turned on her heel and left, disappearing into her private office in the back. 

They stood there, the silence around them weighed down by a newfound awkwardness. Jughead cleared his throat, scrunching up an old piece of paper he’d found in his pocket between his fingers. Not sure what to say or do next. 

A minute ticked by and the only thing that made him feel slightly better was that Betty seemed just as uncertain as him. 

“So I guess we should probably get to work.” She eventually murmured. 

Jughead lifted his head, meeting her gaze. 

“Yeah,” He agreed, “Unless you feel like getting yelled at. I seriously don’t remember Mrs Johnson being that scary.” He smiled crookedly, trying to lighten the mood. 

Betty grinned as well, swallowing back a soft giggle. “She’s not scary, she’s just strict.” 

Strict. 

Of course. 

He’d always admired her tendency to see someone as something positive rather than negative. 

He liked it, because it was usually the opposite of what he tended to do. 

“Is there even a difference?” 

His response made Betty smack her hand against his arm playfully, their quiet laughter dancing in the air between them. 

It was a good start. 

The day passed slowly after that and, much to Jughead’s growing annoyance, he hardly saw Betty. 

The library was old and spacious, accommodating for its impressively large collection of books, and as his luck would have it, he found himself working in the furthest part of it from her. 

Glimpses - _brief and sweet_ \- that was all he got. 

For nine hours, he shelved books alone, getting distracted every time he heard the faint traces of her voice echoing around the room or the sound of approaching footsteps, hoping for just one more look. 

When the last noise he’d heard turned out to be a couple sneaking into the stacks to make out, Jughead had scrunched his nose with disgust. 

At this rate he would get about as much work done as a rock. 

Saturday wasn’t any better. 

Betty brought him another coffee, but he’d barely had a chance to say thank you before Mrs Johnson had appeared and immediately sent him off to start reorganising the historical fiction section. 

He’d been so preoccupied with his task that day, he didn’t even realise Betty must’ve come to see him at some point until he’d found the sandwich and soda she’d left for him on a stack of books he’d been sorting through. 

When he’d finally found a moment to try and thank her for that, she had been talking to their boss about something. 

He had debated waiting, but eventually grabbed a sticky note and scrawled a quick “ _Thanks for the sandwich and soda_ ” on it. 

Come Sunday, Jughead found himself seated on the floor, still surrounded by a pile of books. 

With a loud, disgruntled sigh, he picked up another paperback and slipped it into place, wondering if he’d made a horrible decision choosing a summer job here. 

He had tired to be proactive this morning by arriving ten minutes earlier than he usually did, but like the last couple of days, nothing seemed to be working in his favour. 

Of all the days for her to be late, it had to be today of course. 

His lips twisted, dreading the thought of this going on for another eleven weekends. 

He was about to grab a well-worn copy of _The Book Thief by Markus Zusak_ when he heard someone clear their throat softly.

“Do you want some help?” 

Jughead looked up, his body stiffening when he saw Betty smiling down at him. 

“Oh um,” He paused briefly, tugging on the corner of his beanie out of habit, “Yeah sure. As long as you don’t have anything else you should be doing.” 

“No, not really,” She clasped her hands behind her back, giving him a sort of pleading look, “I’m actually kind of bored to be honest.” 

He chuckled under his breath, gesturing towards an untouched stack of novels. “Be my guest then.” 

Her smile grew wider, like he’d just told her best news of her life, and she wasted no time joining him on the floor and getting to work. 

The corners of his mouth curled upwards as he watched her. Suddenly the rest of his day didn’t look so grim anymore. 

Surprisingly, working alongside her was easy. 

After explaining what system the library used for organising and shelving books, she fell into a quick, methodical rhythm with him. 

Silence drifted between them, only broken by the quiet thumping of books as they worked. It wasn’t stained or uncomfortable though. If anything time seemed to go by faster than Jughead wanted it too. 

That was a concept he was starting to understand very quickly. With Betty Cooper, hours could feel like minutes. Which only made him crave her company even more. 

For someone who spent most of his time alone, he thought it was astounding how quickly he became accustomed to having her there. Sensing her presence, slowly attuning himself to her movements. 

At one point, they’d both reached for the same book and their fingers had touched by accident. 

He had murmured a soft apology and Betty’s cheeks had turned pink when he’d insisted she take it. 

Her reaction had caught him off guard. Enough to make him think, to want to talk to her, but a customer arrived and she had to leave and help him before he could.

He’d lost track of her after that, until five o’clock rolled around and he headed out to the parking lot where he found her standing near his bike, waiting for him. 

“Hey.”

Her grin started to grow as he got closer. Warm. Shy. Beautiful. He slowed, stopping less than a meter away. 

“Hey.”

“Sorry I didn’t come back to help you again, things kinda got busy towards the end there.” 

Jughead shrugged a shoulder, clearly untroubled. “That’s alright. You did more than enough today.” 

Betty nodded, but traces of guilt still flickered in her eyes. He figured that was characteristic for her. Something rooted deep in her moral compass. He half smiled, taking another step towards her. 

“Really Betts, if it wasn’t for you I’d probably still be buried under a mountain of books next weekend.” 

“True,” She dipped her head a little, the corners of her mouth tilting up, “I guess you’re welcome then,” She added, toeing the tip of her shoe into the ground. 

He wasn’t in the habit of using his nickname for her, but damn ... he couldn’t deny that he really enjoyed seeing the way she always responded to it. 

He gave his head a nod then, hesitating before he pulled off his beanie and stuffed it into his back pocket, heading towards his bike. 

“I’ll see you around, Cooper.” 

“How about tomorrow?” 

Jughead turned to look her, his eyebrows lifting at the offer. It was unexpected. To him and, judging by the uncertainty on her face, it was to her as well. 

“I was just thinking, maybe we could hangout?” She explained, tugging on the hem of her shirt. 

“Hangout?” He repeated, a playful smile twitching on his lips, “You mean like at Pops?” 

“No, not exactly,” Betty said around a soft, airy laugh, “But there’s a place I’d like to show you. If you’re ... well interested?” 

He almost burst out laughing, amused by the notion of her thinking that he wouldn’t jump head first at the chance to see her somewhere outside of work. 

“A secret place, huh,” He moved, drawing even closer, stopping just a breath away, “Kinda hard not to be interested now.” 

She worked her throat, staring up at him, holding his gaze as she spoke. “Who said it was a secret?”

He could feel the heat coming off her body and it took everything he had inside him not to reach out and touch her. 

“I’m assuming it is,” He said, “Which is why I want to find out so badly.”

He was flirting. Shamelessly in fact. The husky tone of his voice making her weak at the knees or at least appear to be. Truthfully, he’d never had much success with girls in the past. He was by no means an expert, but even he found it difficult to misinterpret this moment. 

Despite the fact that he’d never quite gotten a reaction like that from anyone before. 

“Well,” Betty said, “It’s a date then.” 

~ 

_Date._

_What the hell did she mean by that?_

Jughead obviously knew what a date was. That it was a social appointment between two people. That it implied romance or at least the possibility of it. 

And for some reason that scared the ever loving shit out of him. 

The following day, he pulled up to the curb outside the Cooper’s house with a head full of questions and a heart full of nerves. 

He turned off his motorcycle and kicked out the stand, feeling mildly pleased with himself when he checked the time and saw that he was actually five minutes early. 

He removed his helmet and climbed off his bike with a sigh, running his fingers through his black strands of hair before he put on his trusty beanie. 

It felt a little weird wearing it without his additional flannel and leather jacket, but with the hot midday sun pelting down on his now exposed arms he was glad he’d chosen to wear a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt today. 

Jughead lifted his head then, eyeing the impressive, white walled residence apprehensively.

Even though he’d never spoken to either of her parents, he’d heard enough rumours about Alice and Hal Cooper to know he would rather avoid meeting them if he could. 

He swallowed thickly, wishing she’d had the initiative to wait for him outside. 

As he made his way up the concrete steps leading to the front door, he barely managed to get halfway before it suddenly opened and Betty appeared, exiting her house almost hurriedly. 

Jughead came to a halt. Something seemed off. He caught a glimpse of her face and for a brief moment her eyes burned with anger, but as soon as she saw him, they calmed and a smile bloomed on her lips. 

His confusion quickly vanished. 

“Wow, never expected you to be so punctual.” She teased. 

He grinned at the comment, chuckling sheepishly when he realised what she was referring too. Back in high school he had a somewhat infamous reputation for being late to class nearly every single morning. 

“I’m trying new things.” He joked back. 

“For me?” She said sweetly, tilting her head to the side, “You shouldn’t have.” 

They laughed together quietly and Betty moved past him, brushing her hand against his ever so lightly. His skin tingled where she’d made contact and he could feel his neck and the tips of his ears warm at the brief sensation. 

_Oh yeah ... he was headed for serious trouble here._

“So um,” He cleared the nervousness from his throat quickly, “How far away is this place you want to show me?”

“Not far.” Betty replied easily, beckoning him to follow with a movement of her hand. 

“So I guess we’re not taking my bike?” Jughead asked when she ignored it and stood on the sidewalk instead. 

“Nope, it’s actually a really nice, scenic walk.” 

“Oh,” He half walked-half jogged to catch up when she started moving, falling into line with her, “Won’t your parents notice a strange motorbike parked outside your house though?” 

She looked back over her shoulder towards her home and he could’ve sworn that her green eyes were dull. Sad. “Trust me Jug, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”   
  


It wasn’t long before she was leading him down a nature trail bordered by a small wooded area, that veered off, heading deeper into the thick trees until it eventually opened up into a large clearing. 

At first Jughead struggled to understand why they were there, but he continued to wade through the waist high grass, following Betty until something that looked a lot like a swing set came into view. 

It was old, encrusted with patches of rust and the red paint that had once covered its facade was now chipped and faded after years of wear and tear from the sun and rain. 

Two swings hung in the middle of it, the chains and flexible canvas seats still remarkably in tack. 

Jughead stopped walking when she did, a pregnant silence settling in the air as they stared at it. 

“My dad built this for me when I was five,” He heard Betty say quietly, “He used to bring me here all the time until I turned thirteen. I haven’t been back since then.” 

An unexpected sadness fell between them as Jughead looked around taking it all in. 

He tilted his head to the side, narrowing his eyes. Something about the structure seemed oddly familiar to him. Like an image or fragment of a memory he couldn’t piece back together again. 

“I think I’ve been here before,” She looked at him when he spoke, a question in her eyes which he didn’t miss, “I’m pretty sure you had your tenth birthday party here.” Jughead chuckled, explaining himself.

“Oh right,” Betty said around a soft giggle, “You came to that?” 

He gave his head a nod, smiling crookedly. “For about ten minutes until Archie and Reggie saw me and chased me away.”

“I’m sorry,” She whispered after a beat, turning so she was facing him, “I wish I’d found you first.”

Jughead felt his lungs deflate. Her eyes were beautiful. Light green in the sun. Genuine and tinged with regret and he suddenly wished he had the ability to could go back to that day, to the moment when he had seen her and hesitated like a total coward. 

“Yeah,” He murmured, “Me too.” 

Looking at her, he was curious to know why she’d chosen to share this with him. Was there some kind of secret meaning behind it all? 

Clearly this place meant a lot to her, even though she wanted him to think it didn’t. 

Maybe if he had the guts, he would ask her one day. 

“It’s kinda crazy that it’s still standing after all this time though.” He said, changing the subject as he walked over to the set. 

“Yeah,” Betty agreed, clasping a hand around one of the rusty metal poles, admiring it more closely, “I thought it would’ve turned to dust by now.” 

“Give it a few more years and it probably will,” Jughead retorted. Wearing a smirk, he sat down on one of the canvas seats then, looking up when the chains above his head rattled and squeaked. For something so old it was pretty darn sturdy. “Bet I still can jump further than you off the swing.” 

“Oh you’re on!” She accepted the challenge with a wide, confident grin, despite the fact that she gingerly took a seat as well. 

The metal structure creaked under their combined weight and after a few cautious movements to ensure it wouldn’t collapse or crumble apart, they picked up the pace and started to swing properly - briskly and at the same time. 

“Okay, on the count of three?” Betty said, “1 ... 2 ...3!” 

At the height of his last swing, Jughead hurled himself forward and into the air, barely hearing the sound of Betty’s laughter over his own until he landed in the grass, absorbing most of the impact with his knee when he slammed hard into the ground. 

“Ahhh shit!” He cursed loudly, gritting his teeth as the pain ricocheted from his leg throughout his entire body. 

Gasping and hissing in agony, Jughead rolled on to his back, feeling some kind of movement beside him before a pair of hands landed on his chest. 

“Oh my god Jug, are you okay?” 

“Yeah, I ... I think so.” 

Betty was already staring down at him when he opened his eyes, the panic and concern he’d heard in her voice also skewed across her gentle features. 

There was something else though, a look in her eyes that captured his attention. Suddenly he was acutely aware of where they were. Or more specifically how close they were. The weight of her resting on his chest making everything feel more ... intimate. 

He looked at her lips, swallowing hard when her eyes lowered to his as well. 

“Betts -“ 

She moved and Jughead stilled, inhaling sharply through his nose. 

She was kissing him. 

_Betty-Fucking-Cooper was fucking kissing him!_

_Holy shit!_

Moving slowly, he wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck and kissed her back, closing his eyes when she nestled her body against his and sank her fingers into his now beanie-less hair, drawing him in so he could truly get lost in her. 

And he did. 

He totally did. 

When her mouth gently pried his open and their tongues touched, the world as he knew it disappeared. Time literally stopped and he completely forgot how to breathe. 

He didn’t want to remember, not unless the only thing that could keep him alive was air in her lungs meeting his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Feel free to leave some kudos or a comment!! Xx

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, feel free to leave a like and to comment your thoughts. Always makes my day to read them. Xx 
> 
> Also this fic was inspired by a song called Summer Skin by Death Cab For Cutie. 
> 
> Go give it a listen if you haven’t heard it before. Xx


End file.
